Never As It Seems
by greenconverses
Summary: Annabeth and Luke watch a demigod from afar...and Annabeth is not impressed by what she sees. That's who she's been waiting for all these years? Pre-series fic.


**Author's notes: **The idea for this little ficlet has been running around in my brain the last couple of weeks. I don't think there's enough pre-series fic out there, and I've always wanted to write a fic about Annabeth's obsession with the child from the prophecy. I had a longer fic in mind for this idea, but this particular scene was what ultimately grabbed my attention and tore it away from my NaNoWriMo project. I hope you enjoy it, and a happy Thanksgiving!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own _Percy Jackson and the Olympians_.

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**Never As It Seems**

"That's _him_?"

Annabeth threads her fingers through the links in the chained face, pressing herself as close as she can to the metal, as if by doing so, she can melt right through it and come out on the other side of the schoolyard. Technically, they're not supposed to be there – Mr. D had only given them permission to leave camp to run some errands for him in the city, but the two of them have never been the ones to respect boundaries, especially when it comes to something this important.

Beside her, Luke shifts and shoots her an amused look. Even though it's been several months since his quest, Annabeth still hasn't quite gotten used to the way his new scar twists his once familiar expressions into something fierce and terrible.

"What were you expecting?" Luke asks, shoving his hands in his coat pockets. "A twelve year old Heracles?"

Annabeth's face scrunches up into frown and she huffs, "_No_."

"Oh, come on. I know you better than that," Luke replies, a teasing hint in his voice. "You've been dreaming up this prophecy kid in your head for so long, anyone short of the old heroes themselves are going to let you down."

Her so-called "obsession" (as Luke so often refers to it as) with the Great Prophecy is one of his favorite things to tease her about, and usually she gets downright annoyed when he makes fun of her for it. But it's been so long since she's heard this playful tone in Luke's voice that she lets the comment slide without making a fuss.

"All right, maybe," she says with a sigh, turning her gaze back on the schoolyard. "But you would think that a demigod powerful enough to make Chiron leave camp to observe him would be like…"

Like Thalia had been, tall and brave, and full of a fierce, noble energy that Annabeth had yet to see in another person. Anyone who had looked at Thalia would just _know_ deep down in his or her gut that she had been born to be a hero, destined to do something great.

Like any of the other countless older demigods at camp who have proved themselves time and time again, persevering against all odds and with everything in the world stacked up against them. Like…

Her eyes slide almost unconsciously to the boy beside her.

Or like Luke, handsome, strong and sure. Every inch of him looks the part of the hero, and he acts just like one too.

If she has to pick anyone she wants the prophecy kid to be like, it would be Luke.

"Like, I don't know," she continues vaguely, valiantly trying to fight the blush infusing her cheeks. "I just thought he'd look more impressive, that's all."

"You're not very impressive looking yourself there, Munchkin," Luke says dryly, and Annabeth lets go of the fence to punch him in the arm. He laughs, and rubs his arm as if she'd actually hurt him. "Ouch, all right! You have an impressive right hook, at the very least. But seriously, Annabeth…you don't always see something impressive the first time you look."

She thinks about this momentarily, and looks again.

He isn't easy to pick out among all the uniformed children crowding the yard at Yancy Academy. He looks just like all the other sixth graders – small, slight, and slouched in his wrinkled school uniform – and there's nothing that sets him apart from everyone else. In fact, the only way she knows she's found him for sure is by looking for Grover first.

The two of them are on the abandoned basketball court on the opposite side of the schoolyard. Grover is hanging by the hoop, leaning against the pole casually, and watching as the other boy dribbles a basketball idly as they chat. The boy has messy dark hair and, as far as she can tell from the distance, an irritated expression on his face.

She watches as he dribbles the ball one more time and then shoots – the ball misses the basketball hoop by a mile, and Grover almost trips over himself to get out of the way before it lands on his head.

Her chest clenches as she watches this display, and it takes her a few seconds to realize why that is. It's like all her hopes and dreams for the past five years have completely missed the mark, just like the basketball had missed the hoop. She's been waiting for a child of the prophecy, and all she gets is _that_? An average boy?

"I don't think the second look helped much," she replies, trying not to let her disappointment show.

Luke notices, of course, because his hand lands on her shoulder a moment later.

"Don't worry about it too much, Annabeth," he says lightly. "Grover's probably just overenthusiastic, being out in the field again. That kid's probably nothing special at all."

Annabeth makes a noise under her breath, not quite in agreement. She's still watching the boy on the other side of the playground, waiting for something - _anything_ - to prove that he's the one she's been waiting for, that he's worth all the trouble they've gone through...

The dark haired boy turns, and their eyes meet from across the schoolyard. Annabeth knows he can't possibly see her, as she's hidden from view thanks to Luke's manipulation of the Mist, but at that moment, she _feels_ -

"C'mon," Luke says, moving his arm to tug at her elbow. "We should get back before Mr. D turns us into dolphins and sells us to a tuna company."

Annabeth wrinkles her nose at this and turns from the schoolyard, her attention drawn away.

"There aren't any _dolphins_ in tuna, Luke."

"Are you sure?" the older boy arches an eyebrow at her as he backs away from the fence and toward the street. "Personally, I wouldn't want to find that out the hard way like Besty Cross did last year, remember?"

"Besty Cross did _not_ get turned into tuna!"

Annabeth lets go of the fence and follows Luke away, arguing with him until they get in the taxi.

Her moment with the demigod at Yancy Academy is brushed aside and forgotten.

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"Percy?"

"Huh?" Percy says, glancing over his shoulder at Grover. The other boy is giving him a strange look, which really isn't unusual because Grover is always making weird faces.

"What were you staring at?"

Percy frowns, and glances back toward the fence. There's no one there, obviously, but he could've sworn, just for a minute…

"It was nothing, man," Percy says, passing him the basketball. "Nothing at all."

He tries to hide it, but he's sure his tone reveals that he wishes it had been something after all.

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_I'd like to make myself believe  
That planet Earth turns slowly  
It's hard to say that I'd rather stay  
Awake when I'm asleep  
'Cause everything is never as it seems_

**Fireflies**, Owl City_

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Thanks for reading!


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